Alchimie Forever Founder Ada Polla

Behind the Bottle

Created in Switzerland by two doctors, Alchimie Forever products blend science and nature, sensorial pleasure and anti-aging benefits, visual chic and softness. Alchimie Forever utilizes nature’s most powerful extracts to bring you daily skin care products that will preserve your skin’s youthfulness. For men, for women, for all. Hypo-allergenic and cruelty-free. Formulated in Switzerland.

1). How did you get started in this industry?

I am lucky to have fabulous parents who are in the beauty industry. My father is a cosmetic dermatologist, and owner of the medical spa Forever Laser Institut. My mother is also an MD, but has focused on research and development throughout her career, leading her to start our product line Alchimie Forever a decade ago.

2). What is your star product or biggest breakthrough?

Our star product is our Kantic Brightening Moisture Mask. It gives the skin an immediate glow and great luminosity, while reducing signs of aging and quelling redness. And the sensorial aspect of the mask is amazing: it is lusciously purple (due to the red grapes and blueberries in it) and smells like blueberry yogurt. Everyone always wants to eat it!

3). Who/What inspires you?

Art inspires me. I love and understand contemporary art, and am an avid collector, but enjoy art throughout history. I do some of my best thinking in museums. I am particularly fond of the Corcoran Gallery of Art and the Phillips Collection in DC. Certain people also inspire me. I have been reading a lot about Jacqueline Kennedy recently. She is certainly an inspiration in terms of style and fashion. My godmother Dominique is also a source of inspiration, as is my maternal grandmother Anne-Marie.

4). Be honest, what beauty products do you use regularly other than your own?

I love Aveda hair products – their Smooth Infusion line specifically. I also like oil-based products, and am currently testing a few, including a primrose oil by Darphin. And I love the Jurlique SPF 30 sunscreen.

5). Imagine the future of the beauty industry and give us your prediction of what’s to come.

I see the beauty industry moving further in the direction of true self-care, self-renovation, almost self-preservation. We will come to see beauty as an expression of the good, not as something related to pampering or vanity, but something that makes us better people by making us feel better about ourselves.

6). Give our customers a beauty insider tip:

I love our Kantic Mask so much that I always put a little bit in my favorite Alchimie Forever moisturizer – think 3 parts moisturizer, one part mask. I feel like I am boosting the anti-aging power of my moisturizer and getting that glow from the mask on a daily basis.

6.5). In 140 characters or less, give us a beauty tip to Tweet and tell us where to follow you.

For baby smooth feet, apply our Dry Skin Balm before heading for a run. More tips @adapolla and @alchimieforever.